House cleaning in Gov. Kathy Hochul's new administration has already led to the removal of officials who were implicated in the bombshell report that determined former Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women.
Now Hochul's office is undertaking a more extensive 45-day review of other administration personnel that may also consider those who were involved in decisions surrounding nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I need to continue working to identify individuals involved in those decisions," Hochul told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Wednesday morning.
A civil investigation by the Department of Justice into nursing home policies that led to COVID-positive patients being discharged into long-term care facilities in New York has ended. But a criminal probe by the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn is reportedly assessing how the former Cuomo administration reported nursing home fatalities during the first 10 months of the pandemic.
Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing, and has insisted the investigations into the controversy were politically motivated.
Hochul, who took office on Tuesday, had earlier pledged anyone who was involved in alleged efforts to undermine the credibility of the sexual harassment claims leveled against Cuomo, including the release of personnel records and the circulation of a never-published op/ed, would not be kept on in her administration.
Several aides and a cabinet member named in the report released this month by Attorney General Letitia James' office -- including Melissa DeRosa, Rich Azzopardi and former Financial Services Superintendent Linda Lacewell -- no longer work for the state.
Hochul in the MSNBC interview said her office culture will be different.
"It’s a culture where you are going to be OK," she said. "You don’t have to look over your shoulder.”